Every new household gadget will eventually become old, and when it does, getting rid of it becomes inevitable to create room for a better replacement.
The case is not any different with your refrigerators. You will need to replace them with newer and more improved models when they become less functional and do not fit your kitchen’s demands any longer.
Disposing of a refrigerator is not the same as disposing of other home waste, but this post contains several solutions for adequately getting rid of your refrigerator. Read on to learn about these ways. But first, why should you dispose of your old refrigerator?
Why You Should Dispose of Your Refrigerator
There are many reasons you may want to dispose of your old refrigerator, and below are a few of them:
- Your refrigerator may no longer be in good working condition, thereby not cooling effectively.
- Your refrigerator may be too old or may no longer fit the standard and level of kitchen decor you desire for your home, and disposing of and getting a new one of a higher model would be a better alternative.
- If your refrigerator develops faults that are difficult to fix, you should dispose of it.
However, irrespective of your reason for disposing of the refrigerator, doing it right is the most important goal. So, how do you do it?
How to Dispose Of Your Old Refrigerator
Since you cannot discard an old refrigerator like any other trash, we’ve come up with various ways to do it seamlessly without any adverse effect on the environment. Let’s get into the details right away.
Give It Out
Just like in disposing of old computers, donating a refrigerator that no longer fits your kitchen standard is one good way to dispose of it. You can donate old refrigerators to your friends, neighbors, families, or non-profit organizations. But first, you must ensure you give it a thorough inspection to know its working conditions.
When you give out your old refrigerator, you save your environment from environmental problems like over-filling landfills and releasing ozone-depleting gases they contain in the soil-water.
In addition, you will also be giving something to a worthy cause, thereby helping to boost the livelihood of others in your little way. Think about someone close to you that may need the refrigerator or take it to a close non-governmental organization.
Another benefit of donating your refrigerator is that you may receive a tax receipt for your donation, but it depends on your area of residence.
Also, some charity organizations may be willing to take it up from your house, which would solve the problem of the additional cost of transporting the appliance. However, you should check out the working condition of the refrigerator before offering it for donation, as mentioned earlier. Below are some reasons why it is essential to do.
- The refrigerator may not be functioning as well as it used to, and checking it out will save the recipient – charity organizations, friends, or families – from the hassle of fixing or recycling a damaged refrigerator.
- Giving out a refrigerator in a bad working condition will be no good to the recipient.
- You may have a better advantage at recycling than donating if the refrigerator is no longer usable.
Sell It Online
If your refrigerator still works fine, but you want to dispose of it to give room for an upgrade, you can place it online for sale. There are many stores online where you can place your refrigerator and other home appliances for sale, and some people will prefer it to a new one because of their average budgets.
Some platforms where you can sell your old refrigerator online are Best Buy, 5Miles, OfferUp, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace.
Here are some tips for selling your old refrigerator online.
- Take quality pictures of it.
- Create an attention-grabbing title while posting it.
- Express the condition of the appliance truthfully.
- Measure and add the dimensions of the r
- Add your location.
- Add your contact information.
- You may set your price or provide a price when a prospect reaches you.
This is also a good way to dispose of home appliances like TVs or Cell phones.
Use Bulk Trash Pick-up Services
A bulk trash pickup is a program that helps you collect items too large to fit into your trash can. Every city or environment has a firm in charge of disposing of trash, and they may greatly assist you in getting rid of your old refrigerator if there is a provision for bulk trash pickups.
Sometimes, waste management agencies in your town and the residential area provide services for bulk trash pickup. Other times, your local government may make provisions for it. They do this by setting aside specific days to collect large garbage items like old refrigerators.
However, to find out what day they offer this service, you need to visit their website or give your neighborhood garbage management agency a call a few days before the pickup day, and your refrigerator will be removed.
Take It To A Local Scrap Metal Recycler
If giving out your refrigerator is not the best option for you, you can take it to a local scrap metal recycler. First, carry out a proper check to see if any handy scrap metal recyclers may want to buy your old refrigerator, or you may search for “free appliance recycling near me” online. Scrap yards will take out the refrigerant and gather any recyclable metals or other parts of the refrigerator.
Your neighborhood’s scrap metal recyclers may also take part in the Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) initiative, and they may pay you for it. Although, you can still drop it off if they are not ready to buy it since you are sure they will dispose of it correctly.
Use Waste Collection Companies
Another way to dispose of refrigerators is to contact professional waste collectors. Although not every one of them provides this service, you can contact your regular waste collector to know if they can get rid of it for you.
Plan a pickup time with them if they can take it. Some companies may have pickup services for bulk trash, and others may need you to move it to a pickup point for safe disposal. Also, you cannot use any waste collection company because you do not want a company that will take your old refrigerator to a landfill – that is not the best way to dispose of such hazardous waste. Therefore, you can ask the waste company how they plan to dispose of the appliance before agreeing to a term with them.
However, before you can get rid of your old refrigerator with waste collection companies, you should remove the doors and hinges.
Take It To Refrigerator Manufacturers
Refrigerator manufacturers can help you modernize or recycle your old refrigerator. Therefore, it may be the best option to take your refrigerator to them if you need a new replacement for it.
Several refrigerator producers and appliance retailers offer removal services, and they can take your old refrigerator for a little fee in return for a new model. They either fix and update the refrigerator or extract the coolant and recycle or discard the remaining parts if it is not fixable.
Certain vendors may do this for free, but sometimes, you have to pay some charges for the removal also.
Consult Your Electric Utility Company
You can dispose of your old refrigerator with an electric utility company since some of them offer refrigerator disposal services.
It is true that this service is not available with all power companies, but you can contact them for confirmation before ruling it out. When you find a company that provides the service, you should inquire about their terms of service – the day, time, process, price, and other conditions.
Interestingly, disposing of your refrigerator with your electric utility is advantageous as they may pay you in cash or bill credit when you switch from an inefficient refrigerator to an efficient and improved model.
Pros Of Properly Disposing Of Your Refrigerator
There are a lot of benefits to properly disposing of your old refrigerator, and they include the following:
- Disposing of your old refrigerator will help you create more space for a new one.
- It will enable you to upgrade to a new and higher model than the one you already have
- Recycling your refrigerator will save how much time and energy production companies use in extracting raw materials for production.
- In certain countries, disposing of your old refrigerator carelessly attracts the law, so proper disposal of your refrigerator saves you the trouble and trauma that comes with violating the law.
- You can donate your old refrigerator to those who need it. It’s a way of touching lives and putting smiles on people’s faces.
- If the refrigerator is faulty, disposing of it gives you comfort, peace, safety, and convenience.
- Disposing of your refrigerator properly takes it away from landfills and gives room for the regular waste.
Final Thought
In conclusion, improper disposal of your old refrigerator Is not healthy for the environment. However, to properly dispose of your refrigerator, follow the tips in this post, and you will create a space for your new refrigerator and also maintain a clean and healthy environment.
